'Hammerhead' competition bot unveiled by Northshore High

With flying discs zooming through the air toward their intended targets, Northshore High School’s robotics Team debut their 2013 competition bot, affectionately known as “Hammerhead”, during the team’s annual open house held Feb. 18. The team participates in the International FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Program competition, which this year is themed “Ultimate Ascent."

Northshore High School Team Combustion Robot operators Nick Petras, Rachel Holladay and Sam Holladay demonstrate the robot's skills during the team's 2013 open house.
Suzie Hunt

“We’re pretty happy with how the robot is performing,” said Aretha Guo, president of NHS’s Team Combustion 1912. “The competition involves having a robot that can toss flying discs into goals at various heights, play defense against other robots and climb and hang from a pyramid during the end game.”

More than 100 people visited the team's build headquarters at the Qinetiq building outside of Slidell.

Designing and building the robot was the work of 39 student team members, with the guidance of about 10 mentors, according to mentor director Christ Kent.

“The mentors may offer tips from their experience, but this is a student-run program and they can be very proud of how much they have accomplished,” said Kent.

"Hammerhead" will compete in the Bayou Classic Robotics competition March 21-23 at the Alario Center in Westwego and the Razorback Regional at the University of Arkansas in April. Both contests are preliminaries for the World Championships in St. Louis in late April.

Students receive details concerning the competition via teleconference in early January. The teams then have six weeks to study the game, design and build the robot, and then crate it until the competition, Kent explained.

Leading the student team with Guo are Challenge Captain Patrick Sprung, Chassis Captain Sam Holladay, Controls Captain Rachel Holladay and CAD (Computer-Aided Design) Captain Nick Petras. The Holladay and Petras also drive the robot during the competition. Students are also in charge of the team’s website design and maintenance, grant writing for support, public relations and presentation design.

“This program is a wonderful way to educate our youth,” said NHS Principal Dr. Michael Peterson. “The fabulous contributions made by parents and mentors for these students should be a model that is replicated in many other disciplines.”

School Board member Mary K. Bellisario seconded Peterson in praising the team and its accomplishments.

“I can’t think of any other program that teaches students the skills, as well as how to think on their feet, to plan, execute and complete a big project in such a short period of time,” said Bellisario. “I think it’s awesome.

“Being a part of the team, I’ve been able to be part of engineering a robot from the original concept to the actual machine, It’s cool,” said Brad Petras.

By the look of wonder on the faces of younger children in the audience, they thought the robot was cool as well, and the team should have no problems recruiting new members in the future.

“I know, for me, as well as the students and the other mentors, once you’ve gotten the bug for these competitions, you’re hooked,” said Kent. “These kids are using their brains rather than brawn, but when you have thousands of people screaming from the stands at the championships, and they are cheering for your robot, it’s tremendous.”

Team Combustion is active in the off season as well, said Kent, as mentors to junior robotics teams at local elementary schools and science camp counselors, as well as participating in Keep Slidell Beautiful clean up days and as parade marshals for the Krewe of Slidellians parade.

For more information on Team Combustion 1912, contact the team’s website at www.team1912.com.